City of Raleigh gifted $2 million to help build play area at Dix Park
Raleigh’s mayor and other leaders will accept a $2 million gift Thursday that will help transform green space at Dix Park into a world-class destination park.
The $2 million donation from Truist Bank will help the city with one portion of the project, building the Gipson Play Plaza Picnic Grove.
"They are making a contribution toward the picnic grove which will be where many families and friends and school children gather as they play in the park and stop to take a breather," said President and CEO of Janet Cowell of Dix Park Conservancy.
The entire Dix Park transformation will cost $35 million.
The Gipson Play Plaza Picnic Grove will stretch over 18 acres at Dix Park, featuring a play space, art installations and an adventure playground. Historic homes on the property will become cafes.
The project received a $10 million donation from the Gipson family in December.
The City of Raleigh is expected to ask voters to approve a $275 million parks bond in November. A large part of that would pay for the play plaza.
Truist will also be giving a grant to a non-profit organization in Durham that will support the Black Wall Street Forward program.
"We’re hoping Dix is living into its mission of being a park for everyone not just in Raleigh but from around the region and the state," Cowell said.
Construction is expected to get underway this summer, around the time the public can enjoy the return of the park's beloved sunflower field.
Nearly 200,000 seeds were planted at Dix Park last month, weighing roughly 25 pounds total. Fields are expected to bloom by mid-July, drawing thousands of smiling faces from across the Triangle. The Sunflower Field will be located off Hunt Drive near the former soccer fields and the historic cemetery.
